Questions from an international traveller :)

[KirstenCapeTown]

Hi all!

It's been such a treat reading and learning from seasoned cruisers here! I have a couple extra questions that I'm hoping you can support with, for context, we are from Cape Town, South Africa, and boarding a cruise in mid May - first timers!

1. We are spending two days before our cruise in Cape Canaveral to get some beach time in and see the space centre. We'll be in Orlando for two weeks before and dropping off our car at MCO on Friday morning, May 13th and cruising on the 15th. We'll depart the ship and plan to make our way back to MCO on Sunday the 22nd. What cost-effective transportation options do you recommend other than Uber/Lyft?
2. Do we need RC travel insurance for the cruise?
3. We are fully vaccinated and have the vaccination card (details written in by the person who administered the vaccine) as well as a South African government issued Vaccination Certificate with a QR code. We will bring both along, but which is required / accepted by the cruise line?
4. Referring to question 3 [if RC requires a QR code to verify the vaccinations], the Vaccination Certificate has a QR code generated by the South African government - I believe that USA transportation, such as air travel, does not have any issue reading the QR code but I've heard some countries in Europe struggling with verification of the QR code (not the case for USA travel), have there been any such reported issues reading the vaccination QR code from other countries for Royal Caribbean cruise embarkation?

Thanks all, so excited to cruise soon!

-Kirst

[AshleyDillo]

3 hours ago, KirstenCapeTown said:

if RC requires a QR code to verify the vaccinations

RC does not use the QR codes. They will simply look at the vaccination records to make sure the name matches the passport name and also check the dates of the vaccinations to ensure that they occurred at a minimum 14 days prior to boarding date. They will verify that the vaccine manufacturer is one of the accepted ones and that there is a lot number recorded.

[fa-li]

One thing to consider about transportation - since you will already have a rental car, and will need to get around the two days you are at Canaveral, you may want to explore returning the car at the port on the morning of your cruise, or the night before, rather than returning to MCO when you are done in Orlando.  Depending on your rental agency, some of the drop offs are within walking distance of the port.  

[Zacharius]

Howdy from a Namibian currently living in the US. 

I agree about looking in to a car hire that allows you to drop it near the port. That will make things easier and would be worth spending some extra money as it would offset any Uber/Lyft/shuttle/taxi cost. 

I don't think there's a need to have Royal Caribbean travel insurance. It's an option, but it may or may not be the best option and doing some research in this area to compare insurance plans and providers could pay off greatly if things go wrong. 

[KJones]

I would opt for travel insurance for a trip of this length and expense, but I would not get the policy(s) offered by Royal, which tend to be less comprehensive. I usually go with Allianz, though I don't know if they also serve international customers.

[KirstenCapeTown]

15 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

RC does not use the QR codes. They will simply look at the vaccination records to make sure the name matches the passport name and also check the dates of the vaccinations to ensure that they occurred at a minimum 14 days prior to boarding date. They will verify that the vaccine manufacturer is one of the accepted ones and that there is a lot number recorded.

@AshleyDillo super duper helpful thank you! We'll be all set then!

15 hours ago, fa-li said:

One thing to consider about transportation - since you will already have a rental car, and will need to get around the two days you are at Canaveral, you may want to explore returning the car at the port on the morning of your cruise, or the night before, rather than returning to MCO when you are done in Orlando.  Depending on your rental agency, some of the drop offs are within walking distance of the port.  

Hi @fa-li totally an option we looked at, but the rental car prices are through the roof - we are using a rental from someone who has phenomenal ratings from Turo and will have to leave the car in the Orlando area. 

15 hours ago, Zacharius said:

Howdy from a Namibian currently living in the US. 

I agree about looking in to a car hire that allows you to drop it near the port. That will make things easier and would be worth spending some extra money as it would offset any Uber/Lyft/shuttle/taxi cost. 

I don't think there's a need to have Royal Caribbean travel insurance. It's an option, but it may or may not be the best option and doing some research in this area to compare insurance plans and providers could pay off greatly if things go wrong. 

Hi @Zacharius nice to connect! Thank you 

11 hours ago, KJones said:

I would opt for travel insurance for a trip of this length and expense, but I would not get the policy(s) offered by Royal, which tend to be less comprehensive. I usually go with Allianz, though I don't know if they also serve international customers.

@KJones that's very helpful thank you